Kiwi researchers are studying a 'revolutionary' new robot as they work to understand human-robot interactions like trust, cooperation and aggression.

University of Canterbury Professor Deak Helton says the machine, named Baxter, is the first industrial robot safe for public use.

The psychology researcher believes robots will soon become very common and says studying Baxter will form an important part of the looming 'robot revolution'.

The robot is a humanoid and unlike others, which are often vehicular in shape, Baxter has two arms, a head and animated eyes.

"Robots, and in particular, humanoid-like robots are going to increasingly be found in our environments," Dr Helton says. 

"This raises a lot of issues of how people will respond. Will people view them with trust or distrust? How do we use robots in workplaces most appropriately?"

Dr Helton hopes to use the machine to study how people coordinate and operate safely with robots in future workplaces.

The goal of the research is to understand how robots will start to influence how people think and interact with each other.

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